Nearly $150,000 Pension For Ex-Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner

JOLIET, IL — Al Roechner's tenure as chief of Joliet's Police Department was marked by constant turmoil, a flurry of lawsuits against his department and allegations of police misconduct in the in-custody death of Black Joliet resident Eric Lurry.

Now, a year after Roechner's departure, the former Joliet police chief is collecting a starting annual pension of $147,721, Joliet Patch has learned.

At $147,721, Roechner's pension is one of the highest in the history of the Joliet Police Department. Only Dave Gerdes, who retired as chief in 2006 and Fred Hayes, who retired as chief in 2011, are getting pensions higher than Roechner at the moment, Joliet Patch found.

As is the case for Hayes and Gerdes, Roechner can expect his $147,721 pension to increase about 3 percent annually due to a cost of living adjustment as he gets older. Roechner is in his early 50s.

According to public records, Roechner retired with 29 years of service at the Joliet Police Department, and the salary used to determine his pension is listed as $203,733— which is almost $30,000 more than Roechner actually made in 2020.

For 2020, Roechner made $175,075 in total compensation, according to Joliet's annual public salary report.

In January 2021, Roechner worked only one week on the job before agreeing to retire.

Outgoing interim city manager Jim Hock negotiated a financial package that gave Roechner a lucrative taxpayer-funded incentive to retire rather than stick it out and face the prospect of being fired by the new incoming city manager Jim Capparelli.

As a result, Roechner's Joliet police pension benefit began on Jan. 22, 2021. Roechner joined the Joliet police force on July 19, 1991. He came up six months short of serving 30 years.

As it stands, Roechner's starting police pension is almost $30,000 more than the person he replaced as Joliet police chief, Brian Benton.

Benton had 28 years of service with Joliet police. He served as chief from September 2013 until November 2018, five years and three months. Roechner was Joliet's permanent chief of police from December 2018 until January 2021 —two years and one month.

In Benton's case, the salary used to determine his Joliet police pension was $168,610.

Benton's Joliet police pension is $118,243, according to public records reviewed by Joliet Patch. Nowadays, Benton also draws a salary with the Mokena Police Department, where he has served as police chief since August 2021.

In addition to Roechner, two other top members of his administration were also able to spike their Joliet police pensions despite being demoted from their jobs as deputy chiefs within days of his departure as chief.

Both men are collecting a Joliet police pension based on salaries that neither man ever made during his time as a deputy chief of police in 2019 and 2020.

Public records list a starting Joliet police pension from April 2021 of $118,835 for a retired Joliet police lieutenant named "Charles M. Reid."

That's really Marc Reid, who got demoted from deputy chief to lieutenant during city manager Jim Capparelli's first month on the job in January 2021.

Despite being demoted, Reid actually got an exorbitant pay raise to return to a lieutenant position. However, Reid never worked a day on the job as a lieutenant in 2021, Patch has previously reported.

Instead, Reid obtained a doctor's note claiming he could not go to work. For nearly three months, he stayed home, using up a portion of his huge nest egg of sick leave.

Then, one day after his 50th birthday, Reid retired from the Joliet Police Department. The salary used to calculate his Joliet police pension is listed as $182,823, which is more than anybody at the Joliet Police Department makes as an annual salary, even in 2022.

On top of getting his starting Joliet police pension of $118,835, Reid now gets a full-time salary with the Elwood Police Department. Last July, Reid got hired as a sergeant by Elwood chief of police Fred Hayes, who worked with Reid for many years at Joliet's Police Department.

In addition to Reid, another Roechner loyalist who was demoted out of Joliet police's upper command last year was Darrell Gavin, nephew of Joliet City Councilwoman Bettye Gavin.

In Darrell Gavin's case, he submitted a written notice of his retirement within days of being notified of his demotion from deputy chief to his previous rank of sergeant.

Like Reid and Roechner, Gavin was allowed by Joliet city officials to retire with a pension based on an inflated salary.

Like Reid, Gavin never made an annual salary of $182,823 during his time as a deputy chief in 2019 and 2020, but that was the salary Joliet used to set his pension, public records reflect.

While Reid retired with 26 years of service at JPD, Gavin had only 22 years with Joliet police. Pensions are higher based on years of experience.

In any event, Gavin's starting Joliet police pension that took effect Jan. 20, 2021, was $100,553.

According to the city financial reports, the pension budget for the Joliet Police Department pensions in the 2022 is nearly $19.1 million. An increase in spending of $417,000 for Joliet police pensions was included in this year's city budget.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Joliet Police Lieutenant Who Isn't Coming To Work Will Retire

Demotions For 3 Joliet Deputy Chiefs: Malec Letter

Demoted Deputy Chief Gets $18K Raise And Isn't Working